House prices up on last year

HOUSE PRICES are 1 per cent higher than a year ago, according to Britain's largest building society, the Halifax, writes Vivien Goldsmith.

This is the first time since January 1991 that the year-on-year figures have shown a rise. The Halifax chief economist, Gary Marsh, said: 'We don't expect any further falls, but there is always a possibility. We think we will see a gentle edging upwards.'

Prices rose by 0.3 per cent during September on a seasonally adjusted basis, but by less than 0.2 per cent in absolute figures, according to the Halifax.

In contrast, Nationwide Building Society reported a fall of 1.8 per cent in house prices during September - the first monthly fall for six months.

But even after this fall, Nationwide estimates that house prices are 2.5 per cent higher than a year ago.

Brian Davis, Nationwide's operations director, said that the recovery in the housing market was 'clearly fragile' and activity remained relatively low.